


Sapling

by Emmeebee



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Star Wars Advent Calendar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-02 22:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16795867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmeebee/pseuds/Emmeebee
Summary: As the fight with the First Order draws to a close, Rey has to adjust to a life that isn't just focused on survival. A series of Damerey drabbles for the Star Wars Advent Calendar. Non-chronological.





	1. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe take their daughter to her first Life Day.

Music drifted through the clearing as the Wookies danced and exchanged Life Day orbs. In the centre of the area stood an ornamental tree, decorated with hundreds of the coloured globes. As the sunlight streaming through from a gap in the leaves above hit the fragile glass, they shone, projecting all the colours of a Chandrilan rainbow.

Sitting off to one side, leaning back against one of the gigantic wroshyr roots, Rey held her infant daughter in her arms. The sheer joy and love of the celebrations never failed to amaze her, and she was thrilled to be able to share it with Liana.

Beside her, Poe was leaning over her shoulder, holding Liana's hand and bopping it along to the beat as he sang, exaggerating his mouth movements for her amusement. She was giggling loudly, her gaze wandering between her father and the celebrating Wookies. Every now and again, she made noises as if she were trying to sing along, and Rey and Poe would stop to congratulate her.

Technically, this was Liana's first Life Day; at nine months old, she had been born not long after last year's celebrations. But for the Wookies, it was like she was one of them. Rey and Poe had been accompanying Chewbacca to Kashyyyk for the holiday for several years now as part of his honour family. In fact, it was here that Rey had first truly committed to starting to pull back from the Jedi Academy in order to spend more time with Poe. The Wookies had been there as Rey and Poe stumbled through the first years of their marriage, as they found a balance between work and family, and as they decided to make the leap and have a baby.

' _Of all the things in the galaxy,'_ Poe sang, swaying Liana's hand from side to side, _'I wish you love, peace, and prosperity. Have endless faith and ardent hope to light your way when all seems lost.'_

The last few bars of the song played, the last note lingering as the melody faded. There was a shuffle near the tree as the Wookies rearranged themselves, preparing for the next song, and Liana started to fidget in Rey's lap. She moved Poe's hand through the air in a clear attempt to make him start singing again.

'Do you want me to keep singing?' he asked with a broad smile.

Before he could start again, a shadow fell over them. 'Chewie!' Rey said. 'I didn't expect you to be back so soon.'

The Wookie was standing over them, an orb in his hand. He let out a low rumble.

'Yes,' Rey said, looking down at Liana, 'Chewie's right. Daddy is a good singer, isn't he?'

Liana immediately settled, letting go of Poe's hand to reach out for her honorary uncle. 'Bababababa!'

Crouching down, Chewie gently patted her on the head, ruffling her short hair.

'Ouch!' Poe exclaimed, eyes sparkling as he raised his hands to his chest as if he had taken a physical blow. 'I see where I stand.'

Chewie held out the orb, pressing it into Liana's hands. Sucking in a breath, Rey reached out to help her steady it, supporting it so it wouldn't fall. Few non-Wookies ever received Life Day orbs; she and Poe had, but it was after years of attending the celebrations.

The girl was staring at it with wide eyes, tracing the pink and silver sparkles with her fingers.

'Isn't it pretty?' Rey asked Liana.

'Thank you,' Poe said on the girl's behalf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the Star Wars Advent Calendar with the prompt ‘Gift-Giving Wookies’.


	2. Celebrate is a Strong Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The First Order has been defeated, and everybody is celebrating - except for her.

Green and gold sparks shot up into the air and burst into magnificent colour. A cheer rang out at the sight as small gathering celebrated their victory. The members of the Resistance – although that name might not be appropriate anymore since there was no longer a First Order to resist – were assembled at the summit of a mountain, staring out over the rolling hills and deep ravines that dotted the landscape below. Everywhere Poe looked, the view was enough to take his breath away.

But his mind wasn't focused on the merriment or stunning scenery. Instead, he was weaving through the cheering crowd, searching for a familiar flash of brown hair.

He hadn't seen Rey since the start of the revelry. At first, he hadn't thought much of it, assuming that she was with Leia and Chewie or Finn and Rose. But then he'd seen all four of them talking by the fire, and she'd been nowhere in sight.

An uneasy feeling bubbled inside him. The battle hadn't been easy for her; they all knew that she'd been holding out hope that Kylo Ren would turn back to the side of the light. There was something admirable about her determination and idealism, even if Poe had long since written the man off for dead.

As he broke free of the crowd and started walking around the periphery of the gathering, he spotted a figure sitting off to the side, gazing into the distance. His pace quickened, and as her features came into focus, he let out a breath of relief. He hadn't been worried, exactly; anything that managed to get a drop on her was sure to regret it. Still, he hadn't liked the thought of her having to work through everything alone.

'Mind if I join you?'

Rey looked up, her gaze unfocused for a moment before it began to sharpen. 'Not at all,' she said, moving across to make more room.

Carefully, Poe dropped down to sit beside her. 'I take it you're not in the mood to celebrate.'

'I know we won,' she said. ' _He_ definitely didn't. But at the same time, it feels like a loss. I honestly thought I could turn him.'

'You did.'

She shot him a disbelieving look. 'How can you say that? If I did, he'd be here right now, talking to his mother.'

'Because you _did_.' Poe still didn't know how she'd done it, but Kylo Ren had agreed to a deal. He would go to some distant planet where he could learn more about the ways of the Force as long as he stopped using it to subjugate others, and in exchange, they would leave him alone apart from a monthly check-in. 'Maybe it wasn't in the way you intended; he'll certainly never fit into places like this. But he's still alive, isn't he? You got through to him enough that he's no longer a threat.'

Rey looked out over the edge of the mountain, her gaze fixed on some point in the distance. In front of Poe's eyes, several emotions flitted across her face; regret, sorrow, longing, hope. It had always amazed him to see how expressive she was. For her, there had never been a reason to conceal what she was feeling, and so she never tried to.

'I just feel like there was something more I could have done. Something I could've said; something I _should_ have said.'

'You can't be everything for everybody, Rey,' Poe said quietly. 'Just because you couldn't save everyone, it doesn't mean you're not a hero.'

Her reply was almost instantaneous. 'I'm not a hero.'

'Are you sure?' He jerked his head back over his shoulder. 'There are plenty of people back there who would disagree.'

There was a flash of yearning in her eyes. It transformed her face, and in that instant, he could see how she must have looked back before she realised that her parents were never coming back for her. Back when she believed her solitude was only temporary.

Ever since they had started spending time together, he had come to learn just how much she longed for a place to belong, where she would fit in and contribute and be valued. It was, he figured, why she was taking her failure to turn Kylo Ren completely so hard. She saw her own past in him, and moreover, she saw a way of being to somebody else what she had always wanted somebody to be to her.

Poe reached out to rest his hand on her shoulder. 'Without you, we – '

Her body tensed at the contact, and he let his hand fall to the ground between them. 'Sorry,' he said. 'My family was very tactile, and I sometimes forget that other people aren't.'

'No, it's okay,' she said. 'It's just… On Jakku, people don't touch each other unless they want something. I know you're not like that, but…'

'But old habits die hard?' he asked with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

'If they die at all.' She glanced over her shoulder, looking back at the gathering as another loud cheer rose into the night. 'I'm not ready to celebrate, but I wouldn't mind something to eat. Do you want to come with me?'

'Of course.' He stood and moved to give her space to get to her feet as well. 'You need to try the bread; it's amazing.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: green and gold


	3. Hiking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe look for a site to house the new Jedi Academy.

Poe paused to take a long swig from his waterskin before continuing along the winding path. Sweat had gathered at the base of his neck, and no amount of wiping could get it under control. It was the height of summer, and the hot sun was beating down on him like a hammer on an anvil.

Next to him, Rey appeared unfazed by the temperature. Having grown up on a desert planet that fluctuated between scorching heat in the day and freezing cold at night, judging from his brief time there, she was used to extreme weather.

'Anything?' Poe asked, hoping he didn't sound desperate.

She shook her head. 'It's starting to look familiar, but we're not there yet.'

A few weeks ago, Rey had been meditating on the question of where to set up the new Jedi Academy when she was impressed by an image of a large open field at the top of a waterfall. Based on her descriptions, Chewie and Rose had created a shortlist of planets that might be able to support that kind of environment. Since then, Rey and Poe had been travelling the galaxy, searching for the place from her dream.

This was the last place on the list. To Poe's relief, the moment they landed, Rey had said that it felt _right_ here. Still, she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to identify the exact location from above, so they had opted to walk. Now, a few hours in, he was beginning to regret not waiting for a milder day.

He kept that opinion to himself. The mission was too important to be delayed for one man's convenience.

Rey had almost died in the final battle against Kylo Ren several months before. Ever since then, Poe's advisers had been stressing the importance of her passing on her knowledge to others. At first, he had ignored their advice. He and Rey had become good friends during the war, and he had been offended that some of them saw her merely as a means to an end.

But as time passed, he had begun to see the wisdom in their words. At the moment, their enemies knew that if they took out Rey, the Resistance would be significantly weakened. They had to address that weakness. Besides, on a purely personal level, it would make her safer, too; the more Jedi there were, the less of a target Rey would be.

And for that to happen, they had to find somewhere to build the new Jedi Academy. Fortunately, this planet also had an old outpost from the original Rebellion. They would have to inspect it to make sure it was habitable, but assuming it was still standing, they should be able to set up the Resistance's base here as well. Despite Poe's time as a leader during the war, he knew that he was a battlefield commander first and foremost; he was ill equipped for dealing with life in government. Perhaps, instead, he could work on maintaining their fleet and keeping the Resistance operational as some sort of special taskforce in case the government ever became corrupt again.

Suddenly, Rey stopped walking, and Poe realised that he had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't been paying any attention to where they were going. Looking around, he realised that they had reached the top of an incline that petered out into a large field with long grass that blew gently in the warm breeze. In the distance, he could hear the sound of water crashing.

'We're here,' Rey said. 'It's perfect.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: solstice


	4. Family

The fire flickered and crackled as the stew simmered, filling the garden with the heady scent of smoke and half-cooked beef. Sitting nearby, legs stretched out to get closer to the warmth, Rey could almost imagine how life must have been like for Poe as a child. Running through the trees of the jungle, jumping across dry patches amidst the swampy areas… curious, brave, free.

'And then he came trudging back, head hanging low and hands stuffed in his pockets, to tell me he'd crashed the darn thing in the swamp and couldn't get it out,' Kes said with a deep, hearty laugh.

Feeling lighter and bubblier than she ever had, Rey looked over at Poe. 'You made a toy plane out of household materials and _crashed_ it?'

He shrugged, not looking in the least bit embarrassed. His body was relaxed, his gaze warm and content. 'I always wanted to fly.'

'Me, too,' Rey admitted. 'I found an old helmet in a wreckage on Jakku and kept it with me for years, picturing – I can get that.'

Kes had stood up, fetching another log and trying to feed it into the fire. However, his hand had quickly snapped back, the log with it. Apparently, it was too hot to keep his hand close to the heat for long enough to wedge it in there.

With a permissive wave of his hand, Kes set the log on the ground.

Tapping into the Force, focusing on the way it moved around her, Rey levitated the log over to the fire, threading it in between the other logs and the cooking pot.

'Keep doing things like that, and he'll start to prefer you over me,' Poe said.

Rey laughed, a rush of joy surging through her at the words. It wasn't true, of course, and she wouldn't want it to be. As much as Kes and Poe liked to josh each other, it was clear that they loved one another deeply. However, they were both so supportive, inviting her into their family without a moment's hesitation. Even before she had started seeing Poe, he had been welcoming, somehow able to make her feel valued from the start. Now that they were together, that was only more pronounced.

'"Start"?' Kes asked, causing Poe to dissolve into chortles.

Poe nudged Rey in the side. 'I told you he'd love you.'

'You did,' she said, although she wasn't sure she would call it _love_. Like, perhaps, and hospitality, certainly, but hardly love.

Then again, how long had it taken her to accept that Poe meant it when he said that he loved her?

'Jokes aside,' Kes said, 'you're welcome here anytime – Jedi powers or not.'

'I might take you up on that.'

'That's what invitations are for, isn't it?' he asked.

Maybe it was. But, more to the point, that was what _family_ was for.

The fire shone red and orange against the darkening sky, and for a moment, the only sound she could hear was the chirping of crickets. The thought of more nights like this, cooking stew or barbecuing meat or even baking damper, doing all the things that she'd wished she could as a little girl, was a heady one.

Between her friends, her job training new padawans, and evenings like this with Poe and Kes, she had found where she belonged.

She would fight not to let any of it go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: barbecue


End file.
